1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of length measurement devices for use in building construction. More specifically, the method and apparatus of the present invention utilize an adhesive tape to facilitate the installation of lap-siding.
2. Statement of the Problem
Lap-siding consists of elongated boards or synthetic materials that substitute for boards. These materials are nailed to the outer frame of a house or other building under construction to provide an exterior siding that is pleasing to the eye. The name lap-siding refers to an overlapped sequence of boards that keeps water out, retains warm air in the building, and permits interior wall space to breathe for the effusion of trapped condensation or moisture. The boards are each positioned with their axis of elongation in a horizontal orientation, and nailed in place one above another with successively upward boards having their respective bottom portions overlapping a corresponding upper portion of the board beneath.
Commercial installation of lap-siding is performed by specialized work crews that reduce construction costs and the time spent in construction. A lap-siding installation crew typically works for a day or two to install the siding. By comparison, the same number of less experienced or less specialized workers might take a week or more, and the quality of the work performed by less experienced workers is often poor in comparison to that of the specialized crew. Once the siding has been installed, other specialized crews, e.g., painters and electricians, move in to perform tasks that can only be performed after the siding has been installed. If the siding installation requires an inordinate amount of time, these other crews can be kept waiting or requested to return another day. The delay can have a snowballing effect if the subsequent crews are not available at the preferred later time. These delays are particularly vexatious and costly to the general contractor. Thus, the use of professional lap-siding installation crews avoids or minimizes many problems.
The crews normally install lap-siding as described in this paragraph. The house is framed, and a vapor barrier (e.g., plastic or tar-paper) is placed on the outer portion of the frame. A horizontal datum line is drawn on the vapor barrier circumscribing the building around the lowermost portion of the fame proximal to the foundation. The horizontal datum line is drawn using a bubble-level device, and is placed a fixed distance above the foundation. This fixed distance is often selected to permit the bottommost siding board to overlap with the top of the foundation, or the bottom board may abut the foundation where overlap is not possible. At the corners of the building, a series fixed intervals are marked off above the datum line. If the span of a particular wall is very large, these markings may also be made on the middle portion of the wall. Two workers hold a lap-siding member in a position of alignment between two corresponding marks on opposite ends of a wall. The lap-siding member is nailed into place in this position. The next lap-siding member is installed in like manner, and the process continues until the vapor barrier is covered with siding. The process is repeated for other building walls. The lap-siding members generally have about one-half inch to one of overlap, i.e., they are about one-half inch to one inch longer than the fixed intervals that are marked above the datum line.
The most problematic aspect of the above-described installation process is that of measuring the fixed intervals above the datum line. Lap-siding typically surrounds the building to which it is attached. Thus, it is essential for the lap-siding members to join at common lines on the corners of the building; otherwise, the mismatched lines are an eyesore that indicates shoddy construction. Even where corner pieces are installed to hide the corners, mismatched lines of one-quarter to one-half inch or more are visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, the boards on a given wall run parallel to one another and, consequently, cannot be tipped at their ends to meet with boards on another wall without ruining this parallel relationship. The defect is immediately visible to the naked eye where boards do not run parallel with the other boards.
Even on professional installation crews, costly errors can result when the workmen who conduct these measurements sometimes to pay attention to detail. In other instances, measurement errors derive from an inexperienced crewmen or language difficulties. The errors are hopefully detected in time to avoid having to remove siding that has already been installed. The crew foreman is constantly having to check the work in progress, in order to ascertain whether a measurement error has been made. If it were not for having to guard against measurement errors, more crews could be allocated to a single foreman or manager.
Adhesive measurement tapes have been developed for use in some areas of building construction, but these are not suitable for use in lap-siding applications. For example, a patent to Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,858, features a multicolored stud layout tape that is used to facilitate a framer's placement of studs. A single tape contains a plurality of multi-colored markings. Each different color of marking indicates a corresponding 16", 24", or 48" center. Thus, the tape can be affixed to a baseboard, and studs can be placed on a 16" fixed interval by aligning the butt of each stud with a color representative of a 16" interval. This tape cannot be used in lap-siding applications because the intervals do not correspond to lap-siding intervals. Additionally, the presence of multiple colors leads to confusion because the workmen can forget which color corresponds to what interval.
Wagner et al, U.S. Pat. No 5,012,590, features an adhesive measurement tape that is used to locate studs, joists, and rafters. The tape bears printed indicia, e.g., feet, circles, and diamonds, which mark fixed intervals corresponding to stud locations. Again, the tape enhances the possibility of errors that derive from confusion as to what mark corresponds to which interval, and the intervals do not correspond to lap-siding intervals.
There remains a true need to develop an adhesive measurement tape that can be used for the installation of lap-siding.